A dog is on the road to recovery after being found emaciated in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood in what animal safety advocates described as in a disturbing case of animal abuse.
Volunteers with iHeart Dog Rescue said they got the call last week when 2-year-old Tawny was found lying in a stranger’s yard. They said the canine was starving, with her rib cage visible.
“Somebody called me and told me they just brought a dog to the shelter and that it was emaciated and that they needed help and they knew that we work with dogs that are emaciated,” said iHeart Dog Rescue founder and President Cindy Mucciaccio. “People are, you know, just don’t care about animals and have no heart.”
It’s estimated that Tawny went weeks, possibly months without food. Rescue officials said this is probably one of the worst cases they’ve ever seen.
“Miracle all over again, it was just horrible, just one of the skinniest dogs I’ve seen,” said Mucciaccio.
Now she’s being nursed back to health at Deer Run Animal Hospital in Deerfield Beach.
“She actually wasn’t walking at the time. She was laterally recumbent and we didn’t examine her. She did look like she was pale, so likely her blood count was pretty low,” said Dr. Sarah Gangadin at Deer Run Animal Hospital.
Veterinarians at the hospital discovered Tawny was suffering from a parasitic infection. Since then, she’s been given medication and has slowly begun eating.
“We will be rechecking her blood work. We will go ahead and recheck her weight, making sure that she’s gaining weight appropriately,” said Gangadin.
IHeart Dog Rescue is asking for South Florida to step up and help in Tawny’s care.
“We got to keep her here for a little while longer, so we are asking for donations to help us with her,” said Mucciaccio. “We’re going to need a medical foster, somebody to make sure that they feed her the same way or whoever fosters can also adopt her possibly.”
The hope is that Tawny will eventually regain weight and then be put up for adoption. If you’d like to help out in her recovery, click here.
